THE MEMORY by Judith Barrow

4 out of 5 stars

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How I discovered this book: I've read all of Judith Barrow's books, so I bought this as soon as it came out.

In a Nutshell: Intense family drama dealing with Down's Syndrome, bereavement and dementia.

I liked the structure of this book a lot - it's written in the first person, and each chapter starts with a small section in the present day (2002), with Irene, the main character, taking care of her mother, who has dementia.  Then it goes back in time, starting in 1963 when she was a child, and her sister, Rose, who has Down's Syndrome, is born.  I really loved the first third, which detailed Irene's love for her sister (quite beautiful) and the difficulties within the family, with her cold, brusque mother, delightful father and the grandmother she adored.  I was completely absorbed.  The rest of the story pivots around a shocking event that takes place at around 40%.

The book slowed down for me a little during the middle section, which was about Irene's growing up and the early part of her marriage to Sam, and I found the family's lives rather depressing (which is a bit rich coming from someone who writes about dystopian horrors, but I find the end of the world as we know it less depressing than a humdrum life.  I know, I'm weird).  In the final third developments became much more interesting, and I was engrossed once more.  I would have liked a little more in the way of plot, but that's just personal taste, not a criticism; this is a character rather than a plot-driven book.

The strongest aspect of the latter part of the book was the initial development of the mother's dementia; I have experience of this with my late mother, and, although the circumstances were very different, it certainly struck a chord, with one particular episode bringing tears to my eyes.

My favourite characters were Irene's father and her husband, Sam, who I thought got a bit of a raw deal and put up with too much (I do hope he had more fun than he admitted to Irene, during a time when circumstances forced them apart).  I can't say I liked Irene, who put her own obsession with the past before his happiness, and whose outlook often seemed rather narrow (I kept wanting to tell her to lighten up, and do something a bit crazy!), but I appreciated how deeply and lastingly she was affected by the aforementioned shocking event, and she's a thoroughly three-dimensional character.

The other star of the book is the time and place—the working class northern England of the 1960s and 70s, which was as starkly and realistically portrayed as any TV kitchen sink drama.

The ending brings a most surprising twist directly related to the events of Irene's earlier years, which filled me with regret on her behalf.  If you enjoy emotional family dramas that dig deep into the psyche, you will love this book, with its vivid descriptions of familial conflict, loss and the day to day difficulties of caring for a person with dementia.